Method of making vamps for boots and shoes.



A. G. LEGG. METHOD OF MAKING VAMPS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES. APPLICATION FILED MAY s, 1908.

0 920,070. I Patented Apr. 27, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

w gjiifzw mii 3M fl M (1.1 W r 9.

A. G. LEGG. METHOD or MAKING VAMPS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES. APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. 1906.

920,070, Patented Apr 27, 1909.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

ll/W 17/955037 w/ /72W QM W 0% M @W h d M akw k/ Tu! :vomns PETERS 60., wAsnmormv. m c.

A. G. LEGG. METHOD OF MAKING VAMPS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES. APPLICATION FILED my 5, 1902:.

s'snnErs-snnm 3.

272 I GILL fiaiz vaya Patented Apr. 27, 1909.

' vam UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED G. LEGG, OF BROOKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO LOOKETT CRIMPING MACHINE COMPANY, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A FIRM.

METHOD OF MAKING VAMPS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED G. Lnee, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, county of Plymouth, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Methods of Making Vamps for Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has for its object an improved process for preparing the vamps of shoes, particularly bluchers and blucher 0X- fords, ready to be assembled in a shoe.

In preparing the Vamps of shoes, such as bluchers and blucher Oxfords, the methods heretofore used were the well-known wet process, so called, and, for leathers which would be injured by the employment of the wet process, the following process: A blank is first cut from a flat iece of leather, said blank being eonsiderab y larger in area than the finished vamp and being only approximately the sh ape of the finished vamp. This blank is then shaped or crimped along the central portion to fit the curve of the front of the foot. By this operation the is folded or doubled. The vamp doub ed upon itself as it comes from the crimping machine is then by the aid of a pattern cut-in to the exact shape desired, and at the time when the cutting-in is done, the cutter prick-marks the vamps where indicated on the pattern.

By the employment of my improved process hereinafter described, I am enabled to overcome a number of objections to the above described method and to eliminate entirely the cuttin -in operation and the consequent waste. Vamps produced in accordance with my invention also have a better fit and do not tend to lose their shape. It is also possible to produce by this process a vamp having a very much longer tongue pro erly molded to shape. Where the old met 0d .just described is employed, the step of cutting-in not only necessitates another handling of the material and considerable time as the work must be very carefully done, but it also results in the waste of a considerable portion of the original blank which is cut off and becomes of little or no value. The larger size of the original blank was necessitated by the fact that the operation of crimping distorts the blank, elongating certain portions of the blank and proper- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 5, 1908.

Patented April 2'7, 1909.

Serial No. 430,925.

tionately shortening others, so that it has been necessary to make the blank large enough to cover the pattern employed in cutting-in.

The invention will be readily understood from the following description, in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, and the novel features are pointed out and clearly defined in the claim at the close of the specification.

In the drawings,Figure 1 shows a plan view of the finished vamp which it is desired to produce. Fig. 2 shows the blank which is used to produce the finished vamp shown in Fig. 1 when my improved process is employed and with the prick-marks indicated thereon. Fig. 3 shows the blank shown in Fig. 2 after it leaves the crimping machine. It is then the same as the vamp shown in Fig. 1 but folded upon itself. Fig. 4 shows a blank such as has heretofore been employed in making the finished or molded vamp shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 shows the blank shown in Fig. 4 after it has been subjected to the crimping operation. Fig. 6 shows the crimped blank shown in Fig. 5 with the pattern used in cutting-in placed thereon, and indicating the waste incidental to this operation.

For greater clearness, it may be stated that Fig. 1 shows the finished product which is produced by either the old process hereto fore in use so far as is known to me or by the employment of my improved process which is herein set forth. Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the steps of my improved process, while Figs. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate the steps of the process heretofore employed.

Referring to the drawings, and particu larly to Figs. 1, 4, 5, 6, there is shown in Fig. 1 the finished vamp which it is desired to produce. This vamp has in the past been commonly made by cutting from a suitable piece of leather a blank such as is seen at 13 in Fig. 4, being somewhat larger than the finished vamp. This blank is then crimped or molded and is thereby caused to assume the appearance shown in Fig. 5. The blank is then taken by an operator who lays upon it the cutting-in pattern and cuts it to the size of the pattern, throwing away the waste. This operation is shown in Fig. 6 where the pattern 14 is seen lying upon the crimped blank, the waste being indicated at 15.

In practicing my improved process I start with a blank (see Fig. 2) which is of no greater area than the area of the finished blank and in doing this effect a very considerable saving of stock. In cutting my blank, I so shape it that the central portion of the toe end, shown at 10, is cut back slightly more than in patterns heretofore employed, and the front corners 16 and 17 of the vamp project slightly farther forward. This is done because the crimping process tends to throw the portion of the stock adjoining the center line of the vamp somewhat farther forward, and to bring the heel ends of the vamp somewhat nearer together; by so doing t e front line of the vamp is made to correspond With the back line of the tip so that the two will coincide when laid together. After the blank has been cut and before it is subjected to the operation of the crimping machine, it is marked as shown at 12. This may be quickly and accurately done in a marking machine because the blank is in its original flat condition. The blank is then crimped in a machine of the kind shown and described in my application for Letters Patenttherefor filed January 27, 1908, Serial No. 412,720. By the operation of this machine the central portion of the blank is molded to the desired shape and is extended or stretched to the desired length in the finished vamp, while the side portions of the front or toe end of the blank are somewhat Shortened. In other words, the original blank is so shaped at the front or toe end that when it is crimped, the distortion of the material due to crimping will result in a finished blank of the proper shape at the toe end. After the blank is put through the crimping machine, it is then ready to be assembled in the shoe, and no cutting-in or marking operation is then required.

By the employment of my process an accurate and correctly shaped vamp which is easily handled in the subsequent operation of lasting the shoe is produced with one less handling. The production of the finished vamp is thereby greatly cheapened and the Waste of material in producing it is eliminated.

V i hat I claim is:

The process of preparing a shoe vamp which consists in first forming a blank which is of substantially the same area as the finished vamp, markin the said blank, and then crimping the said blank to shape.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED G. LEGG.

Witnesses:

GEORGE P. DIKE, ALICE H. MORRISON. 

